Grand Lodge of New York

It is not known when the first Freemason set foot in the American colony of New York, but the first documented presence dates from the mid-1730s, when Daniel Coxe Jr. (1673–1739), was appointed by the Duke of Norfolk, the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England (known to historians as the "Moderns"), to act as a Provincial Grand Master for the provinces of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. No authenticated records exist of his tenure as Provincial Grand Master, and he died a few years after his appointment. Thus, it seems doubtful that he exercised any authority in Masonic endeavors. From 1738 to the 1780s, additional Warrants were issued by the GLE (Moderns) to Francis Goelet (1738–1753), to George Harrison (1753–1771) and to Sir John Johnson (1771–1783). As Johnson was a supporter of the British during the American Revolution, he is believed to have taken his warrant with him when he fled to Canada, thus leaving the Moderns Lodges without a Provincial Grand Master.[4]

To further complicate matters, by the 1750s, the Antient Grand Lodge of England (known to historians as the "Ancients"), a rival Masonic Grand Lodge, had also created a Provincial Grand Lodge of New York, which subsequently chartered lodges under its own jurisdiction. Additional lodges were chartered in New York by the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The Ancients retained their charter throughout the Revolution, however, and it was based upon this charter that an independent Grand Lodge of New York was created in 1781, with Robert R. Livingston as Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of New York was officially organized on December 15, 1782, under the Provincial Grand Warrant dated September 5, 1781, from the “Athol” or Antient Grand Lodge of England. The Grand Lodge declared its independence and assumed its modern title “Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York” on June 6, 1787. While the "Athol" Charter descended from the "Ancients", Livingston himself was a member of a "Modern" Lodge. Thus the two rival Grand Lodge traditions, which in England did not unite until 1813, had already merged before that in New York State.

Early Masonic meetings and meetings of the Grand Lodge were likely held at taverns as well as an early iteration of Tammany Hall. On June 24, 1826 the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic style Masonic Hall on Broadway in lower Manhattan between Reade and Pearl Streets, directly across from the original site of the New York Hospital.[5] This would serve as the home of the Grand Lodge until it the building was demolished in 1856.[6] Due to infighting in the Grand Lodge, the Panic of 1857, and the Civil War, it would not be until the 1870s, that the Grand Lodge would again have a permanent meeting location. In 1870, the cornerstone was laid for a new Second French Empire Style building which served as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge from 1875 to 1911. This 1875 Grand Lodge building was designed by Napoleon LeBrun and due to the Panic of 1873 it would take five years to complete, at the staggering cost of $1.279 million dollars. By the turn of the 20th Century, the Second Empire style was already considered outdated and coupled with rising NYC real estate prices, the 1875 temple was replaced with the current more modern skyscraper.

The current Grand Lodge building is located at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue and was built in 1911, on the same site as the 1875 Grand Lodge Building. At the time, the building caused some controversy, and Past Grand Master James Ten Eyck resigned as Trustee of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund in an effort to convince the then sitting Grand Master Townsend Scudder that the construction of the building would be unwise.[7]

Although today all Grand Lodge of New York lodges in Manhattan meet at the Grand Lodge Building, this was not always the case and is likely a consequence of the high property taxes in New York City. One former Masonic lodge building at 15th Street, home to a number of German-speaking Masonic lodges, is now in use by Friend's Seminary. In addition the Prince Hall Masonic Temple located at 155th Street first served as the Masonic Temple for the William McKinley Lodge.[8]

St. John's Lodge, chartered in 1757, is the oldest operating Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York.[9] St. John's Lodge is the custodian of what is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible. On April 30, 1789, it was upon this Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the first president of the United States.[10] In 2009, the Lodge formed a registered public charity for the purpose of preserving, maintaining and restoring the George Washington Inaugural Bible. In 2014, the St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation, Inc. received recognition as an IRS 501(c)3.[11]

Holland Lodge No. 8 was founded in 1787 and originally conducted ritual in the Dutch language. It is the largest lodge by membership currently in the Grand Lodge of New York, and was the lodge in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his Masonic degrees.[12]